PALAZZO PANTS

The return of the palazzo pant is something that I am truly relieved about. It makes me feel confident and leaves  me with more than enough space to breath and to move about with comfort. It's a  trend that can be easily adjusted to suit different body types, and elongates the legs when you wear it with a high heel. With this pair from Witchery, available at the stand alone store in the V&A Cape Town,  being very long, I could not wear anything else but stratospherically high heels, adding a handsome 11 cm to my 1,78 metre frame, rendering my look rather statuesque. With a little luck, I found these ultra comfortable shoes being marked down to a very irresistible price  in Milan at an Outlet store, stretching the value of the poor South African currency a little further. Palazzo pants are most versatile, and can just as easily be dressed down with a pair of loafers and a denim jacket, sporting a more casual look. Share your view on this phenomenon and let us see how you style them! 

Palazzo Pants - Witchery

Coat - Custom Made

Shoes - Old

Hat - Department Store

Bag - Robinsons

Scarf - Woolworths

HINT OF SUMMER

With a particularly harsh winter and continuous rain, it's hard to get an opportunity to snap a few pictures for style posts outdoors. When the sun shone for a brief while, I grabbed the opportunity to take up my position for a few snapshots of colour. Winter is somehow associated with deep and dark colours, but a flash of colour somehow alleviates the impact of cold weather. It's fun to always ad an unexpected element to your style, making it your own, and paving the way for followers who take inspiration from others. Besides, it ads a little energy to winter, announcing that summer will be back soon....I barely settled into position when the packing clouds burst down in rain again, causing me to run for cover. With that said, I am imprisoned indoors, planning some more energetic colour schemes....and maybe celebrating summer in a far away place.....No wonder in Indian tradition, Holy festival of colour is held by painting the town Red to celebrate spring! Now let's find the map, India is after all on my bucket list.......

Coat- Zara

Turtle Neck - Woolworths

Printed Pants - H & M

Shoes - Flexisole

THE GREAT GATSBY

Although we do not always identify the object of our inspiration on a conscious level, most choices are made having regard to subconscious influences. I take great inspiration in movies, particularly the older classics in which costume dress feature strongly.There can be no denying that my love for the Great Gatsby inspires my fondness for two tone shoes. Dianne Keaton is probably the pioneer of the dandy look, perhaps also encouraged by the elegance of the Gatsby era. Coco Chanel however paved the way for women to challenge convention by introducing the boyish loo, making it feminine in spite of being a little androgynous. 

My quest to find a pair of high rise Brogues in Black & White took me far and wide, but came to an abrupt end when I took to on line shopping and googled my way through the world's clothing stores. This was one of the most timeless finds ever acquired and in line with my style motto to concentrate on classic pieces that lasts longer than the season. They seem to be quite a show stopper, getting a lot of admiration as I go along.  If this era's elegance appeals to you, invest in a pair of multicolour Brogues and ad a little fun to your look. Don't be surprised by a stranger asking you about them....They seem to be quite versatile as you can dress them up or down.They work remarkably well with the 50's style tailored fitted suits with the pencil skirt ending mid calf and the jacket tucked at the waist, accentuating the hourglass figure.  I just saw a Yellow pair, but don't quite think they're going to be as gorgeous, perhaps funky. So how do you style the dandy look?

Jacket - Truworths Limited

Palazzo Pants - Studio W at Woolworths

Shoes - New Look

Turtle Neck - Truworths

Handbag - Celine Boston Tote

Sunglasses - Vintage Miu Miu

Neck piece - Zara 

Belt - Hermes

LAYERING UP

When morning temperatures make you feel as if you should go back to bed and hibernate until the cold recedes, don't despair, layer up against the harsh winter wind by mixing trends. I decided to take shelter in the oversized trend and mixed up different prints to add some spunk to the look. Taking to the oversized coat trend, sure leaves you with more than ample space to go about whatever it is that you do, unlike fitted coats that restrict movement making you feel like a stuffed animal when layered up, but beware if you are in close proximity to or may have to work machinery where your coat may get caught in all it's voluminous excess! The third trend is to simply drape the coat over your shoulders like seen in the front row at fashion weeks around the world. If you wish to sport the entire winter fashion concept of trends, you could wear pumps with socks with this look, but it wouldn't have given me the snug feeling of printed tights, a pair given as a gift and bought in Belgium by a good friend who recently returned from  Europe. The oversized coat comes in different styles and lengths allowing a variety of body types to experiment with it. This vast piece of cloth was sourced from Asos, (regretfully no longer  available) and has a high low seam adding to the detail. So how do you wear this comfortable trend?

 

Coat - Asos

Skirt - Country Road

Boots - Salvatore Ferragamo

Tights - Gift

Boucle Top - Oasis at Foschini's

Leather gloves - Woolworths

 

 

NATURES CUE

Some stylists believe in colour analysis to determine which suits you best, and some of us dance to our own tunes. Another stylist once told me that Rust was not my colour, and that I should not wear this shade close to my face. However, I decided to venture onto my own colour expedition by wearing exactly what I was told not to, and feeling great doing so!  Some outfits just allow you to exude confidence, and some, notwithstanding receiving many compliments, sometimes make you feel less confident. My style motto is to wear what suits your body and what makes you feel comfortable. There is nothing worse than watching women wearing something merely because it's trendy or fashionable, but lacking confidence!  Do any of you ever experience that? This time of the year, the vineyards in the wine lands turn reddish Brown, much like the jacket I am wearing, inspiring a new kaleidoscope of colours and winter shades, so why not take your cue from nature?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photographs taken at the beautiful Lanzerac Hotel & Spa, Wine Estate outside Stellenbosch

 

Jacket - Belle Epoque

Pants  - C & A

Shoes - Woolworths

Handbag - Mango

Neck Piece - Honey

Bracelet - unknown